Ed Thomas

The next book that I finished was "The Sacred Acre." It's the story of Ed Thomas and his legacy. It's a really good book (if you haven't noticed I like most of the books I read). Anyway, they did a great job of telling his story and showing how much he meant to his town and also how he used his platform of being a football coach and teacher to impact tons of people and show them God through his actions.

When I checked the book out from the library the librarian made a comment about how it was a really good book and how everyone probably remembers where they were when they heard that Ed Thomas was shot. When she said this I realized that I did know exactly where I was and as I read it I thought about where I was for a lot of the different events relating to Parkersburg.

Before the tornado hit Parkersburg I participated in track meets there every year. I had seen Ed around the track and at other sporting events through high school. I also saw how much they really cared about their field because it was one of the only football fields that was roped off during meets so people couldn't warm up on it.

I was also reminded how the tornado hit Parkerburg the day I graduated from high school. We had just graduated and were going around to different graduation parties when we saw all sorts of police, firetrucks, ambulances, etc. driving towards Parkersburg. We didn't really think anything of it, just that it was strange to see that many cars driving with their lights on. Then we got to a party and found out that Parkersburg had been hit by a tornado. I also went with some people in my church to Applington to sort out donations.

As for where I was the day he was shot I remembered that I was at the medical center pharmacy. It was the summer after my freshman year and so I was working there and someone came in and asked if we heard that Ed Thomas was shot. We were a little confused and in shock. Who would want to shoot him? As the coming days continued we got little bits of information about what happened.

I really enjoyed reading the book and finding more about exactly what happened. I liked learning more about the Thomas family and how much they showed God's grace after the events that happened to them.